Robert E. Akins, Ph.D., F.A.H.A.
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Adjunct Professor, Department of Materials Science & Engineering
Head, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Research, A.I. duPont Hospital for Children
Akins
Phone: (302) 651-6811
Fax: (302) 651-6897
Email: rakins@medsci.udel.edu
Address:
TERM Lab / 283 ARB
Department of Biomedical Research
A.I. duPont Hospital for Children
Nemours Childrens' Clinic
1600 Rockland Road
Wilmington, DE 19803
Education
- B.A., Ph.D. - University of Pennsylvania
- Postdoctoral - Thomas Jefferson University
- Postdoctoral - A.I. duPont Hospital for Children
Nemours Education and Research Program
An Alliance to Foster Biomedical Research Between the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Delaware and Nemours Biomedical Research at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children/Nemours Children's Clinic
Research Interests
- Human cardiac tissue engineering
- Cell and developmental biology of the mammalian heart
- Advanced electrophoretic techniques for analysis of the proteome
- Interactions between nerve and muscle in children with cerebral palsy
Current Projects
- Cardiac tissue engineering - Mechanisms controlling the assembly of cardiac tissues in vitro.
- Advanced biomaterials for cardiovascular disease - Control of cellular pathways with biologically active materials to control cell distribution and function in cardiovascular tissues.
- Cardiac cell biology - Heme metabolism in the modulation of myocardial phenotype and cardioprotection.
- Nerve/muscle interactions - Maintenance of neuromuscular junctions in children with cerebral palsy.
Research Group
- Janet Mendonca, M.S. - Graduate Student (University of Delaware). Studying the regulation of nerve-muscle interactions in children with cerebral palsy.
- Karyn Robinson, M.S. - Senior Research Assistant. Studying the effects of heme oxygenase activity on the organization and function of cultured cardiac cells.
- Jaimee Militar, B.S. - Research Assistant.
Selected Publications
- Mizuno J, Morita S, Otsuji M, et al. Half-logistic time constant as inotropic and lusitropic indices for four sequential phases of isometric tension curve with in isolated rabbit and mouse papillary muscles. Int Heart J. 2009:in press.
- Nie T, Akins REJ, Kiick KL. Production of heparin-containing hydrogels for modulating cell responses. Acta Biomater. 2009;5(3):865–875.
- Barthold JS, McCahan SM, Singh AV, et al. Altered expression of muscle- and cytoskeleton-related genes in a rat strain with inherited cryptorchidism. J Androl. 2008;29(3):352–366.
- Mizuno J, Matsubara H, Mohri S, et al. Half-logistic time constant: a more reliable lusitropic index than monoexponential time constant regardless of temperature in canine left ventricle. Can J Physiol Pharmacol. 2008;86(3):78–87.
- Rockwood DN, Akins REJ, Parrag IC, Woodhouse KA, Rabolt JF. Culture on electrospun polyurethane scaffolds decreases atrial natriuretic peptide expression by cardiomyocytes in vitro. Biomaterials. 2008;29(36):4783–4791.
- Rockwood DN, Chase DB, Akins RE, Rabolt JF. Characterization of electrospun poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) fibers. Polymer. 2008;49(18):4025–4032.
- Theroux MC, Olivant A, Akins RE. C Histomorphology of neuromuscular junction in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Paediatr Anaesth. 2008;18(3):256–259.
- Akins RE, Gratton K, Quezada E, Rutter H, Tsuda T, Soteropoulos P. Gene expression profile of bioreactor-cultured cardiac cells: activation of morphogenetic pathways for tissue engineering. DNA Cell Biol. 2007;26(6):425–434.
- Mizuno J, Otsuji M, Arita H, et al. Characterization of intracellular Ca2+ transient by the hybrid logistic function in aequorin-injected rabbit and mouse papillary muscles. J Physiol Sci. 2007;57(6):349–359.
- Singhaus CJ, Utidjian LH, Akins RE, Miller TL, Shaffer TH, Touch SM. Growth and development in a heliox incubator environment: a long-term safety study. Neonatology. 2007;91(1):28–35.
